During the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa bookmakers are expected to process over 500 million dollars in World Cup bets. Dozens of World Cup betting markets will be open for each game as football fans put their knowledge of the beautiful game to the test.
With the countdown to the tournament underway, there are already numerous World Cup betting opportunities available at top bookmakers. And we’ll take a quick look at which markets and selections offer good World Cup betting odds to football fans keen to get started with their World Cup betting.
1. Top Goalscorer
Lionel Messi and David Villa head the betting markets for the Top Goalscorer at the 2010 Football World Cup. Both players are in top form this season, and are members of teams that should at the very least make the quarterfinals of the tournament – giving them additional opportunities to rack up goals.
However, Manchester United’s ‘Ginger Prince’, Wayne Rooney, looks to be substantially overpriced in this market. He’s one of the top scorers in Europe and has scored in nearly every appearance he’s made for Manchester United this season. With 5 or more goals enough to secure the Golden Boot, we don’t think Wayne Rooney can be ignored as a value each-way bet at top goalscorer 2010 World Cup odds of 11/1.
2. Top 4 Finisher
Bookies like Betfair have opened World Cup Betting markets on which teams will make the semifinals of the tournament. This is your best chance to cash in on one of the higher priced teams that could cause an upset at the 2010 Football World Cup.
With the tournament taking place in Africa for the first time, it makes sense to look to Africa for a team capable of making the semifinals. Ghana is our pick as the team most likely to make the semis. The Ghanaian team is packed with powerful skilled footballers, and will be confident after its youth team won the FIFA U-21 World Cup in 2009.
3. Top South American Team
Top UK bookie, totesport, is offering betting on the top South American team at the 2010 Football World Cup. Brazil leads the betting markets as the team that has the most World Cup titles and tends to play at its best on the World Stage.
However, Argentina, fielding the brilliant Lionel Messi, will be no pushover and their World Cup odds of 13/8 look like great value. If you back Argentina, you could also place a hedge bet on Chile to do the business at 12/1. As second place finishers in CONMEBOL qualifying, the Chileans will be no pushovers in South Africa in 2010.
4. World Cup Winner
Bets on the World Cup winner are likely to be the most popular ahead of the tournament. Everyone has their own idea of who might take the tournament, but at the end of the day fans have to face the hard facts: only seven countries have managed to win a World Cup title.
Brazil, Argentina, Italy, England, France, Uruguay and Germany are the only countries to have won the trophy, and it’s realistic to expect the World Cup winner to come from amongst these entries. Argentina looks to be the value bet from amongst these nations, trading as high as 8/1 at bookies like Canbet and Paddy Power.
5. Winning Continent
You can bet on whether the 2010 World Cup will go to Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe or South America in the World Cup betting markets. Only two continents have produced World Cup winners, with all seven winners to date hailing from either Europe or South America.
Europe is the strong favourite to produce the World Cup winner with its powerful club infrastructure, large contingent of traveling fans and array of impressive teams. However, one can’t overlook South America’s prospects of producing a winner, with that continent trading at a tempting 9/4 at Ladbrokes.